Raising Awareness: Pressure Injury Prevention

Prevention of injury and disease plays a vital role in the health care of residents in aged residential care.

While there is a spotlight on many important issues that require our attention, there are also lesser-known areas that also deserve acknowledgment.

Pressure injuries within the US are responsible for longer stays in hospital and more than 60,000 deaths per year. The annual cost of pressure injury care within New Zealand is approximately $694 million annually.

This year, Clinical Manager Terry Rickard and Registered Nurse Sharon Olsen of Te Wiremu House hosted a poster competition for Pressure Injury Awareness day of which required clinical staff to research and present their findings. Small workshops were used to display the effects of pressure injuries on humans (even an old apple was used as a demonstration tool).

The poster competition was won by an employee who presented a comical but practical story about Myrtle & Oscar discussing pressure injury prevention.

Te Wiremu House was the only aged care facility in the district to participate. Heritage Lifecare would like to thank all individuals involved in raising awareness for avoidable debilitating injuries.